Jon Nazareth's G3 workbench

[AndyB]

Very nice John,
Can we have a close-up view of that etched works plate?
It looks most attractive with the blue background.

Andy

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Thank you for that, Richard. I have a battery powered G3 Manning Wardle 0-6-0 that they will go behind. It's finished but all in pieces awaiting painting. I did have a professional painter lined up to do the job but his family has problems and he cancelled a lot of his work. So, now it's down to me but I'm not looking forward to it. I'm reasonably happy with wagons but not so sure about a locomotive. I did want some basic lining on it but, I can't do that and so it will be a plain colour. I did think about lining transfers but don't think that I'm even up to that. I do like things straight and I'm probably my own worse critic too.

Regards
Jon

 

[Dog Star]

Hope you're not getting bored with these lavender grey wagons but they are all different.

Definitely not, please continue.

 

[jamiepage]

Really very good stuff indeed. More please, Jon.

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Here's an enlarged picture of the works plate. When I saw it on the screen, it had me running back to take a look at the wagon to see what that 'thing' was but it turned out to be just a bit of fluff, phew!
This plate measures approx. 14.5mm x 8mm and was supplied by Guilplates. The background colour of the plate as supplied was a pale blue which isn't right for the Brighton line. I immersed the plates in a bit of cellulose thinners and the paint lifted clean off. I then re-painted them Revell No. 52 which looks a better colour to me. It looks a bit bright straight from the tin but as a background colour, I think it works well.

Jon

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Here's the early coal wagon again but now fitted out with hinges et al. The next picture, when it comes, will show a completed wagon once again painted in the 'lavender grey' of the London and Brighton. Well, my version of lavender grey. The nuts, if you can see them, are all 16BA opened out to take a 1/32" rivet. The ones holding the W irons are still 16 BA but opened out and taped 14BA, a very good tip from a fellow modeller.

Jon

 

[jamiepage]

Very crisp, neat work indeed.

 

[JimG]

Here's the early coal wagon again but now fitted out with hinges et al. The next picture, when it comes, will show a completed wagon once again painted in the 'lavender grey' of the London and Brighton. Well, my version of lavender grey. The nuts, if you can see them, are all 16BA opened out to take a 1/32" rivet. The ones holding the W irons are still 16 BA but opened out and taped 14BA, a very good tip from a fellow modeller.

Jon,

What material do you use for the solebar/dumb buffer lengths? Is it plastic and is it a solid section or are you building it up from several layers of thinner material?

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Dear Jim

Each solebar is made up from two pieces of styrene. One full length as per normal practice and a short piece each end to make up the double thickness that you can see. I'm not sure what they did years ago but old photos show bolts passing through the end section and to me, makes me think that it was a short section bolted on. There is then an iron band or strap wound around to help stop splitting out. If they didn't use a short section, it would have been an expensive solebar that used two full lengths of timber. The styrene used, I had to order from Canada as I couldn't get the size of section of styrene in the UK. I wanted to build a number of wagons and carriages so, thought the added expense of postage worthwhile. The actual styrene is much cheaper over the pond.

Regards
Jon

 

[JimG]

The styrene used, I had to order from Canada as I couldn't get the size of section of styrene in the UK. I wanted to build a number of wagons and carriages so, thought the added expense of postage worthwhile. The actual styrene is much cheaper over the pond.

Jon,

With solebars scaling out at around 5.6mm x 13.5mm I wondered where you had sourced suitable materials and your information about getting it from Canada made me do a bit more delving around. I then found that you can get much larger Evergreen strip over there - the UK distributors all seem to prefer to only stock the smaller end of the range. I'm assuming that it's Evergreen that you have been using.

Jim.

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Yes, that's right, Jim, Evergreen Strip. The name of the supplier in Canada is, Maritime Hobbies and Crafts Ltd and they were very helpful. They are on the east coast which may make postage a little cheaper. I very recently bought some more from them as I wanted to use it to build the under-frame of the tender for Lion. The under-frame is made up of all sorts of sizes and I felt that styrene would be the easiest option. I'll see if I can post a picture for you.

Well, that worked, eventually.

Regards
Jon

 

[Steve Cook]

Very neat again Jon
Can I ask how you do the chamfers on the timber ends please, they look very sharp and consistent which is something I have failed to achieve when attempting it.
Many Thanks
Steve

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Dear Steve

I just use a flat file. I normally set one chamfer with the file and then match the others to it. I take it slowly and if the angle starts to go off, I simply correct it. That's all, I'm afraid

Regards
Jon

 

[Steve Cook]

Thanks Jon - just a good eye and a good hand then.
And some practice
Many Thanks
Steve

 

[JimG]

I very recently bought some more from them as I wanted to use it to build the under-frame of the tender for Lion. The under-frame is made up of all sorts of sizes and I felt that styrene would be the easiest option.

Jon,

Are the hornguides castings? If so, where did you get them?

Jim.

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Dear Jim
No, the guides are not castings but sawn from 1/16" (I think without checking) brass with the guides riveted on behind. The originals weren't quite like these but near enough. As I progress with this build, things seem to turning out a little differently to the original 'Lion' so, I'm seriously thinking about giving it a different name. My thinking at the moment is still along the animal line but not sure which animal that may turn out to be.

Regards
Jon

 

[geoff_nicholls]

Those are excellent looking wagons, how about some carriages? the LBSC had some really nice looking four-wheelers.
Two questions:
how did you produce the saftety chains? in particular the hooks?
And the buffers on the two round ended wagons, did you make them yourself?

 

[JimG]

No, the guides are not castings but sawn from 1/16" (I think without checking) brass with the guides riveted on behind.

Jon,

I thought you might have found a lost wax brass caster. They do look good.

Jim.

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Geoff
The buffers on wagon 1156 are from Mike Williams, which was a bit of luck, and the buffers on wagon 6627 I turned myself. The heads are steel and the bases are brass. For the little safety chains, I made a jig to wind the link wire onto and then cut the resulting 'spring' with a jewellers saw. That way you don't get the crushed ends that would result from using side cutters. The bases are made from an 8BA cheese head screw. I reduce the length of the head in the lathe and then soft solder a ring in the slot. The soft solder fills any gaps between ring and slot. The rings I wind on the lathe as you would if making an expansion spring. The little hooks are again from Mike Williams. Mike produced a LSWR carriage a little while ago and when I get around to putting it together, it will have the livery of the LBSCR. I did check and some of their early carriages were very similar if not the same.

Jim
Thanks for that. The eight holes against the sole plate are for square headed fixing bolts...later to be added

Regards
Jon

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Here is the 1850/1860 coal wagon again but this time painted. I made the axle boxes myself and then attached an etch supplied by Diane (can't remember her surname). I think they look good but, I should have added a lid or made them to look as if they had a lid, maybe next time. The wooden brake block, as are all my brake blocks, are made from Box, turned as a disc with a hole in the middle to suit the diameter of the wheel and then the individual shoes cut out as and when they are needed. The wheels are castings from Mike Wood but these were supposed to be 3' 4" but I made a bit of a cock up when turning them. I could have put a steel tyre on them and re turned to their true diameter but I wanted some 3' 1" for this coal wagon and decided to turn them to suit. The tyres are a little thin to say the least but, after all, it is an old wagon .

Jon